Quiet bedrooms lead to healthier sperm, study finds

A study in the journal Environmental Pollution found that men who slept where the noise level was often higher than the noise of a suburban neighborhood had worse fertility than men in quieter bedrooms.

Researchers from Seoul National University, in South Korea, looked at health insurance data on more than 206,000 men aged 20 to 59. They calculated noise exposure levels from the men’s residential location and a national noise information system. They found men were 14 percent more likely to be diagnosed with infertility if exposed to noise at night over 55 decibels—about the noise from an air conditioner or a suburban street.

Women seem to have the same response to noise. Other research has linked noise levels to an increased risk for premature birth, miscarriage and birth defects, according to the study.